Fall Silent and Listen

In all the noise, no one is listening. In all the debate, no one has ears to hear. Fall silent for a moment and listen. Put your defenses down and hear. We are called to love one another. We are designed to care.

The violence of each side’s rhetoric has numbed us to our basic calling—to love one another. If each of us stepped back—fell silent—and took a moment to take a deep breath, sit in the quiet, meditate on the value of each other, and pray into the moment we just might see our brothers and sisters for the wonders each one is.

Once upon a time we could debate, discuss, air opinions, and thoughts without fear of being destroyed. I may, or may not, agree with you, but I will always believe you have the right to your values, beliefs, and thoughts. To my very core I would rather walk beside you than walk in front of you or act in a way that will trip you.

Fall silent and listen. Hear your neighbors. Listen to your family. Love your enemy. Lay down the swords of your words and wrap your arms around your neighbors. Stop here. Stop now. And remember that everyone is hurting in some way—we should not add to each others burdens. We all fight battles, visible and not. We all see different solutions to the same problems.

I love you. Always will. We need to love each other right where we are—no matter what you believe, how you look, who you voted for, what you have done in your past or present, what language you speak, where you are from, or any other thing that makes us different. Why? Because I was called to love my neighbor. I was called to serve whoever is before me.

I believe that no matter what is happening in this world God is good—all the time, God is good. And so, I hold tight to my two favorite phrases: even so and Hallelujah anyway. You voted different than me; even so, I love you. The world is uncertain in so many ways right now—hallelujah anyway.

You might choose to cancel me, block me, unfriend me, unfollow, or even attempt to destroy me with your words. I have lived through worse. I will love you anyway. I will pray for you through it all. Yes, I will be hurt to my core, but I will carry on. I simply must do what I was called to do—to love and serve anyway.

I have been quiet for a while because even posting about kittens seems dangerous in the environment of today. Do not hate me if I remain quiet for awhile longer. My soul hurts watching friends, neighbors, and family eat each other alive with this modern belief that one way, one set of values, and one political view must destroy the other.

Even if you are in the trenches at least fall back, fall silent, and listen in love—if only for just a moment each day. If you are tempted to leave an angry comment right now that says something like, “But the other side did…said…voted…” to argue with me—you have simply missed my point. I love you anyway.